The present invention pertains to a device for supporting a ball on its upper end to provide a target for batting practice for a single child, or for use in a variety of modified baseball games with two or more participants.
A string may be attached between the ball and the device for use by a single child. The string comprises a means for retrieving the ball after it has been hit.
For two or more players, various modified, competitive types of baseball games may be played utilizing fielders and one or more bases. In this event two sides or teams of one or more children would alternate in turns at bat and in the field. With one child on each side, one base is used and the batter, after hitting the ball from the top of the tee, must run to base and back to home (the tee) before the fielder retrieves the ball and reaches home or tags the batter out.
With two or more children on each side, at least two bases can be used and the batter need not return home on his or her hit, but can wait to be driven in by a subsequent batter.
The batting tee device of the present invention is intended primarily for relatively young children who cannot pitch well, for example, from three or four to eight years of age. It provides the youngsters at an early age with practice relative to a proper batting stance, aim at the ball, team work and game rules. A game played with the tee device holds the interest of the players as well as the spectators and is particularly useful by boys and girls from kindergarten age through the third grade or older. At home Dad can assist Junior and establish an early-in-life father-son closeness.
Therefore, one of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide for youngsters early instruction in competitive sports in a baseball game which they can handle, namely because it requires no ball pitching.
Another object of the invention is to provide a batting baseball tee which is limber and self-righting especially on a bad batting hit, said tee being provided with a weighted-down self-righting base with a generally waist-high upstanding ball support post, removably attached thereto whereby the post may be removed and replaced by a post of a different height for use by taller or shorter children.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an inverted, limber conical helical spring in fixed attachment to the top end of the post to support a ball.